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Awful, awful, awful...need a hug or something

:cry: Bad, bad, bad today. I don't know if I picked up a stomach flu or what, but I cant keep anything down. I keep sipping water, and throwing it up again. Same thing with soda, and I even tried ginger tea. Called my doctor, he ordered some suppositories for me (phentanyl or something like it) but it's not working, only making me sleepy. This is bad, folks. I'm in flare, and if I can't keep anything down, I can't take my meds....
Hubby says if I'm not better by the time he gets off work, he's taking me to the hospital. I am sure that Marvin, Cynthia and BennieSue (the nurses) will be glad to see me but I DON'T WANT TO GO!
NOOOOOOOOO not again!!! :cry:

Oh, I'm so sorry -

I go thru this ever month with the chemo - phenergan and compazine don't work for me - zofran is the only thing that helps

While you're acutely sick like this, water will just make you throw up more. Try just some plain saltine crackers - no water. Regular cola, not diet, slightly flat so it's not fizzy, will sometimes help nausea. Many ginger ales just contain flavoring, not enough ginger to actually help, and the strong carbonation may make you feel worse. If you're really thirsty, try just holding some ice chips in your mouth. Putting a cold compress against the back of my neck or the inside of my wrists sometimes helps me. If you don't start feeling better soon, you may need to go to the hospital at least till the vomiting is under control.

thank you...

ate two saltines and am sucking the ice chips...I can tell I am already dehydrated.
I will keep y'all posted. If I do have to go to the hospital I will have my laptop...
thank you so much my wonderful new friends.

Things like clear soup, jello, popsicles, plain rice and yogurt have a high fluid content so they can help keep you hydrated without upsetting your stomach more. I try to avoid gatorade and sports drinks because it's easy for lupus patients to get their electrolytle balances screwed up. Eating a tiny something like a cracker or pretzel every hour or so keeps your blood suger level and may keep you from getting the dry heaves. The smell of food ccooking can often trigger vomiting when you're sick, so it's generally better to have someone else be in the kitchen, or fix things you don't have to cook. Even when you start feeling better, you might want to stick to a light diet for a while.

If you can find the acupressure point on your inside wrist, pressing firmly on it may control nausea

I'm so sorry that you're having such a terrible time today - I do hope that if you're not able to keep anything down, that you do call the doctor. I suffer the same - yogurt and jello seems to be the only two things I can keep down....and I eat them so slowly.

You'll be in my thoughts and prayers. Let us know how you're doing.

Hope you're feelin' better tomorrow.

Much love,
Browneyedgirl

"I believe that friends are quiet angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly." - unknown

Update on my situation...and a RANT

This will be long. I'm in the hospital with my laptop, and I'm bored, upset and sick...
Yesterday afternoon my hubby took me into the ER. I was just too dehydrated and the vomiting/diarrhea would not stop. They have dx'd me with gastroenteritis. They tried IV's in practically every place they could, but my veins are SO bad (they tend to flatten out)...finally were able to get one into my foot (ouch, ouch, ouch)
So (this is not for the queesy here) I had to use a bedpan. Last night there was a non-staff nurse on duty (I think she was from an agency or something) I had used the bedpan for the IBS and it was awful. I rang and rang and rang...20 minutes I sat there. By that time my bum was burning so I started trying to use babywipes to get it off my skin.
She finally came in and started bawling me out for throwing the babywipes into the bedpan (hey what else could I do, I can't walk to put them in the trash with an IV in my foot!)
Then she had to give me solumedrol (something for the flare) and it has to be pushed slowly through the IV because it burns like coal oil. She looked me dead in the eyes and pushed the whole dosage through and said, "Don't be a baby. You should be used to this." THAT B*tch!
I was so furious! When the patient care tech came in, I told her what happened, and she sent in Marjie, the head nurse on the shift. Marjie sent that other nurse home and called in Marvin, who was grinning ear to ear. He is so funny, I call him Starvin Marvin cause he is tall and skinny. He said, "Well, it was my night off, but Marjie told me Kathy Lopez done fired the agency nurse and hired YOU!" What a sweetie.
I have an NG tube and am allowed clear liquids (ugh the dreaded green jello.) They are giving me compazine for the nausea, which is helping, and keeping me hydrated, in addition to treating my flare. (What the heck is solumedrol anyway???) Is gastroenteritis a common thing with Lupus, because I've had it several times before.
It's so boring in here, but at least I have all of YOU. Thank you for letting me vent. This way I can be sweet when my hubby comes to see me this afternoon. Love to all--

YOU POOR THING

Gastroenteritis is a general term for a GI disturbance with diarrhea, nausea and vomiting - it can be viral (i.e. stomach flu), bacterial, and so one - there is no one specific cause. Treatment for viral gastroenteritis generally involves controlling the symptoms and preventing dehydration and possible complications. Of couse everything is more complicated with lupus since any illness can trigger a flare. Solumedrol is Methylprednisolone, a very strong steroid which helps reduce inflammation in your GI tract, and will hopefully prevent you from having a flare. I can't believe they used a foot vein - I hate those. My veins are so god-awful from chemo that I always have to have a central line, generally in my neck. I used to have a port-a-cath which had to be removed because of infection, so I can't have another implanted yet.

You were right to complain about the nurse's actions - the nursing supervisor and the nursing agency both need to know about this behavior so this woman will not be hired out. Can you imagine what that type of person might do to a frail or helpless patient who couldn't complain?

I'm glad you are able to have your laptop- my rheumy and internist won't even let me keep my blackberry when I'm in the hospital. My last extended hospitalization was over four months long -a month of which was in a "clean room" where I couldn't even have books or magazines - and I thought I would go crazy from boredom.

I hope by catching this early your doctors will be able to get it under control and you can go home in a couple of days. I KNOW you will miss the green jello - maybe your hubby can make you some at home. I don't understand the food choices at many hospitals - I had to be on a clear liquid diet for several days after a bout of pancreatitis - when they finally took me off the clear liquids, instead of gradually bringing back solid foods, the first meal they brought me was cabbage rolls with tomato sauce, and fried okra - their idea of a vegetarian meal! UGH -instant nausea again. I had to beg for tea and toast. To this day the smell of cabbage makes me sick.

Unbelievable....

and now for the NEXT chapter in my saga...
The vein in my foot was not working well, so they brought a doctor in to give me a central line. He messed up and punctured MY LUNG! It's 50% collapsed, so they put a tube into my back to "suction" and reinflate the lung.
so now I have an NG tube, a central line, and a tube in my back...oddly enough, it's the tube in my back that hurts the worst.
They're also giving me trazodone to help me sleep at night because the solumedrol is really interfering with my sleep...it's like a super steroid!
Still on clear liquid diet, sigh...but the vomiting has stopped. I *may* get to have some solids tomorrow, the GI doctor told me.
I thought inserting a Central Line was something any first year resident could do without screwing it up. My husband was FURIOUS!!! The same dr. wanted to put the back tube in, and my hubby stormed, "You're not TOUCHING my wife again! I want the cheif of surgery in here!"
they didn't bring the chief of surgery but some other hotshot doctor. I could tell he was mad (not at us but at the first doctor who messed up)
My poor husband...what a day he had yesterday. First, he had a flat tire he had to change. Then the battery was dead, so he had to buy a battery. Then when he gets to the hospital, all this drama.
Here's a great tip for when you're in the hospital...Hubby brings food for the nurses station...he brought pizza the first night, subway sandwiches the next. Of course, the nurses know us from all the times I have been here. He also put snack size candybars in my room not for Me but for the nurses...they pop in to get a snack and therefore check on me all the time! Thank God for the nurses...I love 'em.

You poor baby

you are having an awful time of it. I wish I could tell you that what happened to you was a freak occurrence, unfortunately it's one of the more common complications of central lines. At least the problem was caught and treated early - hopefully the chest tube will resolve the collapsed lung with no further complications.

i don't know about your insurance coverage, but you should definitely talk to the hospital's risk management department to insure you are not billed for the additional medical treatment expenses incurred as a result of this doctor's negligence. These bills should be written off by the hospital. The hospital's ombudsman or patient care advocate should be able to tell you who to contact. You also need to insist on getting a copy of any internal report or investigation generated by the hospital - the hospital may kick about this, but insist.